Dirs.
Zach Cregger & Trevor Moore, US, 2009, 89 mins
Cast:
Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore, Raquel Alessi, Mandy Stanton
Review by
Andy Stanton
Eugene (Cregger) wasn't supposed to be virginal. Resolving to finally have sex with his now frustrated long-time girlfriend Cindi (Alessi), Eugene falls down some stairs before the deed is done and spends the next four years flat on his back in a coma. He's brought back to consciousness by his energetic buddy, Tucker (Cregger) employing the "bat-trick" and before Eugene can even fully regain control of his bowels, the two are hurdled on a cross-country trip to the Playboy Mansion since Cindi is now the titular "Miss March" and Eugene wants closure and the eternally horny Tucker wants to be at the mansion.
The sex-comedy and the road trip film are kindred spirits as the latter allows for the episodic breakdown of sexual misadventures required of the sex-comedy. So if the sex-comedy-road-trip is formulaic, how successful does Miss March apply the formula? It's an adequate enough film but this relatively easy sub-genre is an arms race of raunchiness so there's no point in holding back. Much like violence, someone is going to take it to the next level within the next few years so you might as well go as extravagant as possible. Miss March has a few memorable moments but mostly it's more Odd Couple than, say, Sex Drive .
Sadly, their characters aren't enough to carry the film. With Tucker as the horny idiot and Zack this odd couple's Felix Ungar with severe muscle atrophy, their relationship and behavior is predictable rather than giving full rein to the characters. Cregger and Moore have already come to audience's attention through their comedy troupe, The Whitest Kids and this is where the other three members could have been a boon to the production. Moore and Cregger have already established a successful dynamic with their Whitest Kids co-stars Sam Moore, Darren Trumeter, and Timmy Williams, and by casting these three into supporting roles there would be potential for bigger laughs and more memorable characters.
Instead, the only other supporting actors are Molly Stanton as Tucker's vengeful ex (who's really more of a plot device than a character) and a painfully miscast Craig Robinson as rapper "Horsedick.mpeg". I'm a huge fan of Robinson's work on "The Office", Zack and Miri Make a Porno , and Pineapple Express but he's completely wrong for an obnoxious, stereotypical character like Horsedick. Robinson's talent comes from deadpan delivery and awkward pauses whereas Horsedick is not only a lame character, his abrasive attitude is outside of Robinson's wheelhouse.
Ultimately, Miss March is a serviceable comedy but just barely. It needs more characters and more memorable moments but it did have me laughing constantly throughout and rather loudly at times. As a generic sex-comedy, it does what it needs to do but I know these Whitest Kids have a far better movie in them.
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